Safety holder for cigars and cigarettes



April 4, 1939. M LEWIS 2,153,332

SAFETY HOLDER FOR CfGARS AND CIGARETTES Filed Feb. 11, 1938 WHTNESSESINVENTOR vZh&47-r" 9/.ZIe2z/is5 ATTORN Patented Apr. 4, 1939 PATENTOFFICE HOLDER FOR CIGARS AND CIGARETTES w Murrey Lewis,

Application February 1 3 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved safety device or holder for cigarsand cigarettes, an object being to provide a construction wherein thesmoker may freely smoke a cigar or cigarette 5 and yet will not drop theashes on the floor, table, or surrounding objects.

Another objectof the invention is to provide a construction to hold acigar or cigarette in position to be readily smoked, while permittingthe smoker to place a lit cigar or cigarette and holder on a polishedtable or a bed without danger of injuring these articles. v

A further object, more specifically, is to provide a cigar or cigaretteholder which may be used either with or without conventionalmouthpieces.

In the accompanying drawing- Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectionalview through an embodiment of the invention, a cigar being shown inconnection therewith;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through Fig. 1 tap proximately on the line2-2;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of the righthand end of thestructure shown in Fig. 1, illustrating an improved clamp;

Fig. 4 is an end View of the structure shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detail fragmentary sectional View through Fig. 4approximately on the line 5-5;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing a slightly modified formof the invention wherein a mouthpiece or conventional cigar holder isused;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 but illustrating a cigarette holderor mouthpiece;

Fig. 8 is a detail fragmentary perspective view of the closed end of theholder illustrating the arrangement of the hinge end and catch.

Referring to the accompanying drawing by numerals, l indicates a housing which may be of any suitable foraminous material, as for instancewire mesh. This is. made of a desired length and when in the form shownin Fig. l is usually about half the length of a standard cigar, but whenused as shown in Fig. 6 the housing is approximately the same length asthe standard cigar. However, the housing may be made of differentlengths and different diameters without departing from the spirit of theinvention. This housing acts to catch the ashes While permitting air tofreely enter to permit combustion as the cigar is smoked.

Surrounding the housing l is a cage 2 preferably formed with a ring 3adjacent the open end of the housing and a ring 4 adjacent the closedend. Preferably the ring 4 is placed beyond the New York, N. Y.

1, 1938, Serial No. 189,914

closed end a short distance as shown in Fig. 1 so that the device withthe cigar therein may be set on its end and remain in that positionuntil removed therefrom. Protecting bars 5 connect the respective rings3 and 4 and as shown in Fig. l are spaced a suitable distance from thehousing so that anyone may grasp these bars without touching thehousing. Also if the device is placed on a highly polished table or abed, the cage 2 will hold the housing away from the table or bedclothesand, consequently, will prevent any injury to these articles. The bars 5are preferably soldered or welded to the rings 3 and 4 and preferablyare provided with extensions which form the supporting legs 6 and I,though these legs could be made separate if desired. As shown in Figs. 1and 2, only two of these legs are used at the front, though if desiredmany more could be used without departing from the spirit of theinvention. At the rear there are provided spring or resilient legs 8having coiled ends 9 resting on the housing I so as to center thehousing within the cage. The legs 8 may be separate from the bars 5 butpreferably are bent extensions thereof and preferably press against thehousing without being connected thereto. It will of course be evidentthat if desired these legs could be soldered or otherwise secured to thehousing.

Arranged adjacent the open end of the housing l is a clamp "or grippingmember ID which is adapted to clamp a cigar A and hold the same in adesired position. After the cigar has been smoked to a certain extentand the ignited part is near the open end of the housing, the smokerwill grasp the handles II and I2 and press the same together. This willloosen the clamp or grip and permit the smoker to slide the cigarfarther into the housing I, after which the handles II and [2 arereleased and the clamp or grip will again function to hold the cigar inthe desired adjusted position. Preferably the clamp Ill is made fromwire though it could be made from some other suitable material. Thiswire is resilient and has a portion l3 soldered or welded to the ring 3.From the portion I3 the wire extends parallel to the housing I asindicated by the parallel bars l4 in Fig. 3. These bars are bent so asto present clamping bars l5 and 5 parallel to the ends of the housing.The clamping bars l5 and I6 are in turn bent at I! and I8 formingsecondary clamping bars l9 and 20 which merge into the handles II andI2. It will be seen from Fig.-4 that the bars I9 and 20 are crossed sothat when the handles II and l2 are pressed toward each other the clampwill open to permit the cigar A to be inserted or to be shifted. Thesebars are resilient and normally' in the position shown in Fig. 4. Theywill automatically return to this position or as near to this positionas possible when released so that they will automatically grip the cigarA.

In order to prevent the lips of the smoker from coming in contact withthe respective bars of the grip, there is prowided a protectingstructure which includes two L-shaped protecting members 2i and 22 whichmay be formed of any desired material, as for instance fiber, Bakelite,asbestos, or the like. These members are connected at one end by alooped spring 23 which has the respective ends secured to these membersand which functions to give these members a tendency to move toward eachother. Each of these members has a pair of depending fingers 24, whichare shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Each of these fingers is inturned slightlyat 25 so as to engage the respective bars of the clamp. However, members2| and 22 may be readily removed and replaced at any time.

In Fig. 6 substantially the same structure is shown as that illustratedin Fig. 1 except that the grip and associated parts are eliminated.Therefore the same numerals will be used in this figure to refer to theseveral different parts. It will be noted that there is provided a metalsleeve 23 which is soldered, welded, or otherwise rigidly secured to theopen end of housing I. A mouthpiece Zl of usual structure is providedwith a threaded section 28 adapted to screw into the sleeve 26. Themouthpiece 2'? may be of any suitable type provided it is formed withthreads which fit the ring or sleeve 26. In this form of the inventionthe cigar is placed in the mouthpiece and lit, and then the cigar isslid into the housing I and the mouthpiece screwed into position asshown.

In Fig. 7 the same general idea is shown as illustrated in Fig. 6 exceptthat there is provided a mouthpiece suitable for receiving a cigarette3B. This mouthpiece is threaded at 28' for screwing into the sleeve 26'in a similar manner to that illustrated in Fig. 6.

In the two modified forms of the invention the device will catch theashes and also will protect external objects coming in contact witheither the burning end of the cigar or cigarette or the hot ashes as thecage 2 in each instance will serve in the same manner as the cage 2shown in Fig. l.

The end opposite the open end is normally closed when the device is inuse, but as shown in Fig. 8 it is provided with a door or closure member33 which may consist of a ring 3! and a wire mesh center 32. The ring 30has a spring catch 33 at one point and at the diametrically oppositepoint there is provided a hinge 34 which is also connected to astiffening ring 35 arranged interiorly of the housing I. While this formof the invention is preferable, the housing I could be made without thehinged end closure without departing from the spirit of the invention.However, when the end closure 30 is used it is preferably opened when acigar is placed in position as shown in Fig. 1 in order that tht cigarmay be lit from that end of the housing. After the cigar has been lit,the catch 33 issnapped into its closed position and then the holder willfunction in its usual manner.

I claim:

1. A safety holder for cigars including a wire mesh housing open at oneend and closed at the opposite end, a cage secured to said housing andprojecting beyond the closed end thereof, said cage being formed with aplurality of bars parallel with but spaced from said housing and at theprojecting end being provided with inturned sections for maintaining thebars spaced from the housing, a ring carried bysaid inturned sectionsarranged in a plane substantially parallel to said closed end wherebythe device may be set on its end, and means adjacent the open end forholding a cigar with the ignited end positioned in the housing.

2. A safety holder for cigars including a wire mesh housing open at oneend, a protecting cage connected to and surrounding said housing, and acigar gripping and holding structure for holding the ignited end of thecigar in said housing, said gripping and holding structure including apair of resilient bars, each bar being bent into a V- shaped portion andextending in opposite directions for presenting a substantially squareopening into which the cigar is adapted to be inserted, said barscrossing and extending for forming handles forshifting the position ofthe V-shaped portions to spread the same so that the cigar may be placedin correct position and then gripped and a coil spring for holdingsaidbars in normal functioning position.

3. A safety holder for cigars including a foraminous tubular housingopen at both ends, a closure at one end, said closure being hingedlymounted so as to be readily opened and closed, a protecting cagesurrounding said housing and connected thereto adjacent one end, saidcage being formed with a plurality of bars extending parallel with saidhousing, an inwardly extending structure at one end secured to saidhousing and spacing said bars radially from the housing, each of saidbars having a bent-in section at one end, said bent-in sections engagingsaid housing for assisting in holding; said bars spacedfrom said housingand means including a ring for holding said bent-in sections spacedapart, and means adjacent the housing opposite said closure for grippingand holding a cigar in place.

MURREY LEWIS.

